Wide receiver Makai Lemon has become a key to USC’s future – San Bernardino County Sun

USC wide receiver Makai Lemon runs with the ball for a touchdown during the second half of their game against Rutgers on Friday night at the Coliseum. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

LOS ANGELES — Before Kyle Ford announced he was “taking a trip” and moving a few miles east when he played the 2023 season at UCLA, he lined up against young wide receiver Makai Lemon.

yes Rereceiver. Except Lemon lined up at cornerback for a few snaps in USC’s November game against UCLA because the Trojans’ secondary was depleted and they needed an extra body. He had played two ways at Los Alamitos High School, a four-star standout who came to town alongside top blue-chip QB Malachi Nelson. Division I football, as a true freshman, when Lincoln Riley specifically said earlier that year Lemon would “play receiver for us” was a whole different beast.

He faced Ford on a blocking play, Ford recalled after the Trojans’ win over Rutgers on Friday night. Ford spoke hesitantly about the memory, recalling that it got “the best of him,” Ford said.

But Lemmon, a junior in Ford’s four recruiting classes, jumped back up and started barking at him.

And Ford knew at that moment, as he said, that the child was a dog.

“I thought, ‘Oh, I like that,'” Ford recalled. “He’s just one of those guys.”

There were years, Riley acknowledged Thursday, when a receiver established himself as the unequivocal No. 1 in his system. There were other years when the head coach felt his programs had the number one “handful.” This 2024 season, for USC, had completely fallen into the latter.

While Lemon, who spent his true freshman year working in part at cornerback and missed a few games early as a sophomore, suddenly emerged as Miller Moss’ go-to guy — and one of USC’s most important offensive building blocks.

“I think you’ve slowly seen him slowly build up to a game like this since he came back from being out,” quarterback Miller Moss said Friday night after USC’s 42-20 rout of Rutgers. “Obviously him being healthy really helps us offensively. And I don’t think anyone is surprised by that.”

Really, slow build. Three tackles in loss at Minnesota. Leading six teams wins against Penn State. Then another Trojan eight caught against Maryland, often finding seams as a comprehensive safety valve for Moss.

And when USC came out to kick off Saturday, last year’s freshman returning All-American, Zachariah Branch, didn’t return deep, caught in a period of unproductiveness in the return game. Special teams coach Ryan Dougherty, Riley explained after the game, had come up with the idea to let Branch focus on punt returns — and give Lemon a chance for kickoffs.

On Lemon’s second return, in the first quarter, he headed to the 8-yard line, creating a lane of blockers on the right side. In addition to planting and displaced Of course, two Rutgers defenders in front of him were caught with the momentum going in opposite directions. And he exploded down the field for 80 yards, setting up a score, the explosive play that USC has lacked for most of the season.

It was just the beginning.

He went on a 70-yard route in the third quarter. It took another 40 yards for a touchdown in the same frame. He finished with 256 all-purpose yards and led USC in receiving for the third straight game with a 134-yard performance.

“He made some really competitive catches, some big plays after the catch,” Riley said after the game. “He plays fast, he plays with confidence.”